Illumination device having a support member for supporting a light guide member and image reading device including the same

ABSTRACT

An illumination device includes a light emitting unit, a light guide member, and a support member. The light guide member has a flat plate part that extends in the longitudinal direction and a light guide body, and is molded such that a sectional shape vertical to the longitudinal direction is a hat shape. The support member has a pair of end support parts that support both end parts in the longitudinal direction of the light guide member and a flat plate part-support part that supports a surface of the flat plate part of the light guide member, which is opposite to a side of the light guide body. A support surface of the flat plate part-support part abuts the surface in an entire area in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the light guide member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-176990 filed on Sep. 14, 2017, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The technology of the present disclosure relates to an illuminationdevice and an image reading device including the same.

In the related art, there has been known an image reading device thatilluminates linear light toward a document placed on a document tableand leads reflected light to a photoelectric conversion unit (forexample, a CCD sensor) via a mirror and the like, thereby reading animage of the document.

In this type of image reading device, there has been proposed anillumination device using a light emitting diode and a rod-like lightguide member in order to generate linear light. One end part of thelight guide member faces the light emitting diode. The light guidemember is formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof with a lightemitting part extending in a longitudinal direction of the light guidemember. Light emitted from the light emitting diode is diffused to thewhole area in the longitudinal direction by the light guide member, andis emitted from the light emitting part as linear light.

As a molding method of the light guide member, there has been known amethod in which a mold is divided into a plurality of (for example,four) molds in a circumferential direction when viewed from thelongitudinal direction of the light guide member and each split mold isradially opened/closed in a radial direction.

SUMMARY

An illumination device according to one aspect of the present disclosureincludes a light emitting unit, a light guide member, and a supportmember. The light guide member has a rod shape. One end part in alongitudinal direction of the light guide member faces the lightemitting unit. Furthermore, the light guide member is formed on theperipheral surface thereof with a light emitting part extending in thelongitudinal direction. The support member covers an opposite side of aside of the light emitting part of the light guide member and supportsboth end parts in a longitudinal direction of the light guide member.

Furthermore, the light guide member has a flat plate part and a lightguide body. The flat plate part extends in the longitudinal direction.The light guide body protrudes from one side surface in a thicknessdirection of the flat plate part and is formed over an entire area inthe longitudinal direction. The light guide body is provided on theperipheral surface thereof with the light emitting part. The light guidebody is formed such that a sectional shape vertical to the longitudinaldirection is a hat shape.

The support member has a pair of end support parts and a flat platepart-support part. The pair of end support parts support both end partsin the longitudinal direction of the light guide member. The flat platepart-support part supports a surface of the flat plate part of the lightguide member, which is opposite to a side of the light guide body. Asupport surface of the flat plate part-support part abuts the surface inan entire area in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the lightguide member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external appearance perspective view of an image formingapparatus in which an image reading device having an illumination devicein an embodiment is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an imagereading device in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an external appearance perspective view illustrating an imagereading device in an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an external appearance perspective view of an illuminationdevice of the present embodiment mounted in a carriage of an imagereading device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an illumination unit constituting anillumination device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view when a light guide member is taken alongsection vertical to a longitudinal direction.

FIG. 7 is an external appearance perspective view illustrating a supportmember that supports a light guide member.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view when an illumination device is taken along avertical surface along a right and left direction.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view of a front end part of an illuminationdevice.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view when a front end part of an illuminationdevice is viewed from a position closer to a rear side and is a viewillustrating a state in which a first light guide member has beenremoved.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view when a front end part of an illuminationdevice is viewed from a position closer to a front side.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view when an illumination device in FIG. 11 istaken along a vertical surface along a shaft line of a boss part.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating a mounting structure of anouter pressing member with respect to a sheet metal member.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view for explaining a division structure of asupport member that supports a light guide member.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a divisionstructure of a support member that supports a light guide member.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating a one side division part.

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view following a second light guidemember at a rear end part of a support member.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view illustrating a mold for molding used when alight guide member having a sectional hat shape is formed.

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating analysis of a generation factor ofwarping when a light guide member having a hat shape is molded.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment will be described in detail onthe basis of the drawings. It is noted that the technology of thepresent disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration diagram of an image formingapparatus 1 including an illumination device 40 in an embodiment. Theimage forming apparatus 1 is a composite type image forming apparatus (amultifunctional peripheral) having a scanner function, a facsimilefunction, and a copy function in addition to a print function. In thefollowing description, it is assumed that a front side and a rear sideindicate a front side and a rear side of the image forming apparatus 1,a left side and a right side indicate a left side and a right side whenthe image forming apparatus 1 is viewed from the front side (a side ofan operation panel 8 to be described later), and an upper side and alower side indicate an upper side and a lower side of the image formingapparatus 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes animage forming apparatus body 2 and an image reading device 3 disposedabove the image forming apparatus body 2. The image forming apparatusbody 2 has a print unit 4 disposed at an intermediate part in an up anddown direction of the image forming apparatus body 2, and a plurality ofsheet feeding cassettes 5 disposed below the print unit 4. The sheetfeeding cassettes 5 receive different sizes of sheets thereinrespectively. The print unit 4 performs printing on the sheet suppliedfrom the sheet feeding cassettes 5 on the basis of predetermined imagedata. As a printing scheme of the print unit 4, an electrophotographicscheme is employed. That is, the print unit 4 forms an electrostaticlatent image by irradiating a surface of a photosensitive drum withlaser light corresponding to image data, develops the electrostaticlatent image by using toner, and transfers the developed image to thesheet.

For Image Reading Device

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic configuration diagram of the imagereading device 3 in the embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates a perspectiveview of a housing 20 of the image reading device 3 in the embodiment.The image reading device 3 is a device that optically reads an image ofa document (a document sheet) on a contact glass 11 and generates imagedata corresponding to the image of the document. In the presentembodiment, for the image reading device 3, a front and rear directioncorresponds to a “main scanning direction” and a right and leftdirection corresponds to a “sub-scanning direction”.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the image reading device 3 includes thehousing 20 provided on the upper surface thereof with the contact glass11, a document cover 6 that is mounted at the housing 20 so as to beopenable and closable and covers the upper surface of the contact glass11 in a closed state, and a reading unit 30 received in the housing 20.The document cover 6 is integrally formed with an automatic documentfeeder (ADF) 7. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, from a frontsurface part of the image reading device 3, the operation panel 8 isformed to protrude. The operation panel 8 is provided with an operationunit 9 including a numeric keypad and a start key, and a display unit 10including a liquid crystal display.

The image reading device 3 performs a document reading operation thatreads an image of a document. The document reading operation includes amanual mode in which a document placed on the contact glass 11 by a useris read, and an automatic sheet feeding mode in which a documentautomatically supplied by the automatic document feeder 7 is read.

The housing 20 includes an approximately rectangular parallelepiped-likebox body 20 a (see FIG. 3) opened upward, and the contact glass 11mounted at an upper opening of the box body 20 a. FIG. 3 illustrates astate in which the contact glass 11 has been removed. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the contact glass 11 includes a first contact glass 11 a onwhich a document to be read in the document reading operation of themanual mode is placed, and a second contact glass 11 b having an upperside through which a document to be read in the document readingoperation of the automatic sheet feeding mode passes. The first contactglass 11 a is formed in a rectangular plate shape and occupies a widerange on the upper surface of the housing 20. The second contact glass11 b is formed in a rectangular plate shape elongated in the front andrear direction and is disposed at a left side of the first contact glass11 a on the upper surface of the housing 20.

The document cover 6 is placed at the upper side of the housing 20. Thedocument cover 6 is mounted at the housing 20 so as to be openable andclosable by using a hinge (not illustrated) provided at a rear end partof the housing 20 as a fulcrum. The document cover 6 covers anapproximate entire area of the upper surface of the housing 20 in aclosed state.

The automatic document feeder 7 is received in the document cover 6. Theautomatic document feeder 7 conveys a document set in a document feedingtray 7 a along a predetermined conveyance path and allows the documentto pass through a reading position on the second contact glass 11 b. Thedocument having passed through the reading position is discharged to adocument discharge tray 7 b.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the reading unit 30 includes a first movingcarriage 31, a second moving carriage 32, a condensing lens unit 33, andan imaging element 34. In the first moving carriage 31, an illuminationdevice 40 and a first reflecting mirror 41 are installed. In the secondmoving carriage 32, a second reflecting mirror 42 and a third reflectingmirror 43 are installed.

In the reading unit 30, when each of the document reading operation anda document size detection operation is performed, the illuminationdevice 40 irradiates a document on the contact glass 11 with light.Reflection light reflected from the document surface after theirradiation from the illumination device 40 is reflected in sequence ofthe first reflecting mirror 41, the second reflecting mirror 42, and thethird reflecting mirror 43. The second reflecting mirror 42 and thethird reflecting mirror 43 invert an optical path. The reflected lightof the third reflecting mirror 43 passes through the condensing lensunit 33, so that an image of the reflected light is formed on an imagingsurface of the imaging element 34. The imaging element 34 includes acharge coupled device (CCD) and the like and photoelectrically convertsthe light received in the imaging surface into an analog electricsignal. The analog electric signal is converted into a digital electricsignal by an A/D conversion circuit (not illustrated) and then isinputted to a controller 15 as image data.

The moving carriages 31 and 32 are driven by a driving mechanism (notillustrated) using a driving motor such as a stepping motor. The firstmoving carriage 31 reciprocally moves along the lower surfaces of thefirst contact glass 11 a and the second contact glass 11 b in the rightand left direction. The second moving carriage 32 reciprocally moves inthe right and left direction by a half of an amount of movement of thefirst moving carriage 31 while following the first moving carriage 31.Specifically, in the document reading operation of the manual mode, thefirst moving carriage 31 moves in the right direction from directlyunder (a home position) the left end of the first contact glass 11 a. Inthis movement, light is irradiated toward a document from theillumination device 40. On the other hand, in the document readingoperation of the automatic sheet feeding mode, the first moving carriage31 moves directly under the second contact glass 11 b and enters astationary state. In this stationary state, light is irradiated toward adocument from the illumination device 40.

For Illumination Device

The illumination device 40 irradiates illumination light by employing adocument on the contact glass 11 as a focal position. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the illumination device 40 includes a first illumination unit 51and a second illumination unit 52 that irradiate linear illuminationlight long in the front and rear direction, and a resinous supportmember 53 that support the first illumination unit 51 and the secondillumination unit 52. The illumination device 40 irradiates light at aposition facing the first contact glass 11 a or the second contact glass11 b in accordance with the position of the first moving carriage 31.The first illumination unit 51 and the second illumination unit 52 havethe same configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the first illumination unit 51 includes afirst light source 61 and a straight rod-like first light guide member71. The second illumination unit 52 includes a second light source 62and a straight rod-like second light guide member 72. In theillumination units 51 and 52, each light guide members 71 and 72 isprovided with one light source 61 and one light source 62 (correspondingto light emitting units) respectively. In the illumination device 40,the two light sources 61 and 62 are provided.

Each of the light sources 61 and 62 is a white light emitting diode(LED) having a thin disc shape and emitting white light. As an exampleof the white LED, it is possible to use a high luminance LED package.The high luminance LED package is configured by sealing a GaN-based orInGaN-based semiconductor light emitting element for emitting blue lightor ultraviolet light with transparent resin containing a fluorescentsubstance. Furthermore, the shape of the white LED is not limited to thedisc shape and can employ a square shape. Each of the light sources 61and 62 is disposed facing one end surface of each of the light guidemembers 71 and 72. The light sources 61 and 62 are mounted on LED boards63 and 64, respectively (see FIG. 4).

Each of the light guide members 71 and 72 is formed by a lighttransmitting resin material such as acrylic resin. As illustrated inFIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the light guide members 71 and 72 have light guidebodies 71 a and 72 a, flat plate parts 71 b and 72 b, and claw parts 71c and 72 c, respectively. The light guide bodies 71 a and 72 a arecolumn parts having approximately semicircular sections extending in thefront and rear direction. The light guide bodies 71 a and 72 a protrudefrom center parts in the width direction of the flat plate parts 71 band 72 b extending in the front and rear direction. FIG. 6 illustratesthe sectional shape of only the first light guide member 71; however,the second light guide member 72 have the same sectional shape as thatof the first light guide member 71. Each of the light guide members 71and 72 has a sectional hat shape as illustrated in FIG. 6. Each of theclaw parts 71 c and 72 c protrudes from an outer end part in the rightand left direction of each of the flat plate parts 71 b and 72 b at anend part of a light incident part Si side of each of the light guidemembers 71 and 72 as illustrated in FIG. 5. It is noted that the otherdrawings, other than FIG. 6, do not illustrate reference numerals So,Si, and Sr for the purpose of visibility.

In the light guide members 71 and 72, incident light from end surfacesfacing the light sources 61 and 62 respectively corresponding to thelight guide members 71 and 72 propagates, is converted into linearillumination light, and is emitted. Specifically, in each of the lightguide members 71 and 72, one end surface facing each of the lightsources 61 and 62 serves as the light incident part Si (see FIG. 6), anupper surface (a surface facing the contact glass 11) is formed with alight emitting part So for emitting light, and a surface (an oppositesurface of the light emitting part So) facing the light emitting part Sois formed with a light reflecting part Sr. The light emitting part Soand the light reflecting part Sr are formed over the whole area in thefront and rear direction of the light guide bodies 71 a and 72 a,respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the first light guide member 71 and the secondlight guide member 72 are mounted spaced apart from each other in thesupport member 53 in parallel to each other in the right and leftdirection. The support member 53 is mounted in the first moving carriage31 (see FIG. 2) such that the light guide members 71 and 72 extend alongthe front and rear direction. The first light guide member 71 isdisposed at a right side of the second light guide member 72 when viewedfrom the front side of the housing 20.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, thefirst light guide member 71 is mounted in the support member 53 suchthat the first light source 61 is positioned at the front side, and thesecond light guide member 72 is mounted in the support member 53 suchthat the second light source 62 is positioned at the rear side. Thefirst light source 61 is positioned in a front side area of the housing20 and emits incident light to the first light guide member 71 towardthe rear side. The second light source 62 is positioned in a rear sidearea of the housing 20 and emits incident light to the second lightguide member 72 toward the front side.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the first light guide member 71 and the secondlight guide member 72 are supported by the support member 53 at the sameheight. In the support member 53, a path of light toward the firstreflecting mirror 41 from the first contact glass 11 a is formed insidebetween the first light guide member 71 and the second light guidemember 72. The first light guide member 71 and the second light guidemember 72 are inclined by a predetermined angle and are provided with anorientation in which the light emitting part So (see FIG. 6) areslightly directed inward. In the first light guide member 71, the lightemitting part So faces the left obliquely upward when viewed from thefront side of the housing 20. In the second light guide member 72, thelight emitting part So faces the right obliquely upward when viewed fromthe front side of the housing 20.

Details of Support Member

Details of the support member 53 will be described with reference toFIG. 4, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8. The support member 53 is mounted at a bottomplate part of the first moving carriage 31 via a sheet metal member 80.The support member 53 is divided into a one side divided part 531 andthe other side divided part 532 (see FIG. 15). The division structure ofthe support member 53 will be described later.

The sheet metal member 80 includes a bottom side sheet metal 80 a onwhich the support member 53 is placed. Four sides of the support member53 are surrounded by a front side sheet metal 80 b, a rear side sheetmetal 80 c, a left side sheet metal 80 d, and a right side sheet metal80 e, which are obtained by cutting and raising a part of the sheetmetal member 80 as illustrated in FIG. 4. A lower surface of the supportmember 53 is supported by abutting the bottom side sheet metal 80 a atboth end parts and an intermediate part thereof in the front and reardirection (see FIG. 8). The entire lower surface of the support member53 may be allowed to abut the bottom side sheet metal 80 a.

Referring to FIG. 7, the support member 53 has a first reflecting-sidesupport part 53 a, a second reflecting-side support part 53 b, a frontend support plate 53 d, and a rear end support plate 53 e. The first andsecond reflecting-side support parts 53 a and 53 b are disposed toextend in the front and rear direction in parallel to each other whilebeing spaced apart from each other in the right and left direction. Thefirst and second reflecting-side support parts 53 a and 53 b serve asflat plate support parts that support the flat plate parts 71 b and 72 bof the first and second light guide members 71 and 72 from the sides ofthe light reflecting parts Sr (see FIG. 6), respectively. Thereflecting-side support parts 53 a and 53 b are connected to each othervia a flat plate 53 f extending in the front and rear direction. Theflat plate 53 f is formed with a rectangular through hole 53 g extendingin the front and rear direction. In the through hole 53 g, a pair ofinner pressing members 81, which will be described later, are disposedby passing through the through hole 53 g in an up and down direction.

Referring to FIG. 8, a support surface 53 s of the first reflecting-sidesupport part 53 a and a support surface 53 t of the secondreflecting-side support part 53 b are inclined such that inner end edgesare lower than outer end edges when viewed from the front and reardirection. The support surfaces 53 s and 53 t become white reflectingsurfaces capable of reflecting light toward the inner sides of the lightguide members 71 and 72. The reflecting surfaces are not limited to thewhite color and it is sufficient if the reflecting surfaces have colorswith high reflectivity of light or the reflecting surfaces may be madeof a material that easily reflects light or may be subjected to asurface treatment. The first reflecting-side support part 53 a and thesecond reflecting-side support part 53 b serve as reflecting surfaceformation parts.

The support surfaces 53 s and 53 t abut the lower surfaces of the flatplate parts 71 b and 72 b of the light guide members 71 and 72 in thewhole area in the front and rear direction thereof, respectively. Eachof the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t is formed at the center part inthe width direction thereof with a dish-like groove 53 m extending inthe front and rear direction. In the groove 53 m, the light reflectingparts Sr of the lower surfaces of the light guide members 71 and 72 arereceived. Surfaces of the grooves 53 m become reflecting surfacescapable of reflecting light toward the inner sides of the light guidemembers 71 and 72.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, each of the first and second reflecting-sidesupport parts 53 a and 53 b is formed at one end in the front and reardirection thereof with an engaging groove 53 i (FIG. 9 illustrates onlythe engaging groove 53 i engaged with one claw part 71 c) engaged witheach of the claw parts 71 c and 72 c of the light guide members 71 and72. The engaging groove 53 i is formed by cutting a part of an outsidebank part 53 k extending in the front and rear direction. Each of theclaw parts 71 c and 72 c of the light guide members 71 and 72 is engagedwith the engaging groove 53 i, so that each of the light guide members71 and 72 is restricted to be movable in the front and rear direction.The claw parts 71 c and 72 c of the light guide members 71 and 72 areformed at ends of sides at which the light sources 61 and 62 (see FIG.5) corresponding to the light guide members 71 and 72 are positioned.Consequently, when the light guide members 71 and are thermally expandedin the front and rear direction, distances between the light guidemembers 71 and 72 and the corresponding light sources 61 and 62 rarelychanges. Consequently, it is possible to suppress a variation in theamount of light incident into the light guide members 71 and 72 from thelight sources 61 and 62.

Referring to FIG. 7, the front end support plate 53 d and the rear endsupport plate 53 e are disposed facing each other in the front and reardirection while interposing the first and second reflecting-side supportparts 53 a and 53 b therebetween. As illustrated in FIG. 10, each of theend support plates 53 d and 53 e (FIG. 10 illustrates only the endsupport plate 53 d) is formed with a pair of fitting holes 53 j fittedwith each of the light guide members 71 and 72. The front end part ofeach of the light guide members 71 and 72 is fitted in the pair offitting holes 53 j of the front end support plate 53 d and is supportedthereto. The rear end part of each of the light guide members 71 and 72is fitted in the pair of fitting holes 53 j of the rear end supportplate 53 e and is supported thereto. Each of the fitting holes 53 j isformed in a hat shape corresponding to the sectional shape of each ofthe light guide members 71 and 72. The ends of each of the light guidemembers 71 and 72 are fitted in the fitting holes 53 j, so that they arenon-rotatably restricted.

From each of the front end support plate 53 d and the rear end supportplate 53 e, a columnar boss part 53 h protrudes. FIG. 10 to FIG. 12illustrate the boss part 53 h protruding from the front end supportplate 53 d. The boss part 53 h is formed between the pair of fittingholes 53 j in each of the end support plates 53 d and 53 e. Each of theboss part 53 h is formed with a screw hole 53 r (illustrated only inFIG. 12) having a predetermined depth toward a distal end side from abase end side. Each of the end support plates 53 d and 53 e is jointlyfastened and fixed to the front side and rear side sheet metals 80 b and80 c by using a bolt 65 together with the LED boards 63 and 64 (FIG. 12illustrates only the LED board 63). As illustrated in FIG. 11, from theouter side surface of each of the end support plates 53 d and 53 e, apair of pins 53 p for positioning with respect to the front side andrear side sheet metals 80 b and 80 c protrude. The front LED board 63 ismounted with the first light source 61 (see FIG. 10) and the rear LEDboard 64 is mounted with the second light source 62. The bolt 65 isscrewed into the screw hole 53 r of the boss part 53 h by passingthrough the front side and rear side sheet metals 80 b and 80 c and theLED boards 63 and 64 disposed overlappingly with the sheet metals 80 band 80 c (for example, see FIG. 12).

Configuration of Pressing Member

Returning to FIG. 8, the illumination device 40 further includes a pairof inner pressing members 81 that press the inner ends of the first andsecond light guide members 71 and 72 to the support surfaces 53 s and 53t, and a pair of outer pressing members 82 that press the outer ends ofthe first and second light guide members 71 and 72 to the supportsurfaces 53 s and 53 t.

The inner pressing members 81 are disposed at both right and left endsof the through hole 53 g formed in the flat plate 53 f. Lower ends ofthe inner pressing members 81 are engaged with and fixed to the bottomside sheet metal 80 a of the sheet metal member 80. The inner pressingmembers 81 vertically extend from the bottom side sheet metal 80 a, arebent to an obliquely upper side toward an outer side in the right andleft direction, and then are vertically bent up.

As enlarged and illustrated in FIG. 13, the outer pressing member 82 hasa V-shaped part 82 a, a horizontal plate part 82 b, a vertical platepart 82 c, and an engaging claw 82 d. The V-shaped part 82 a is formedto be fitted into a connection part between the outer ends of the flatplate parts 71 b and 72 b and the light guide bodies 71 a and 72 a ofthe light guide members 71 and 72 (FIG. 13 illustrates only the lightguide member 72). A base end of the V-shaped part 82 a is supported bythe horizontal plate part 82 b in a cantilever shape, and the horizontalplate part 82 b is slightly bent to urge the V-shaped part 82 adownward. A base end of the horizontal plate part 82 b is engaged withand fixed to the left side sheet metal 80 d via the vertical plate part82 c and the engaging claw 82 d. The left side sheet metal 80 d isformed by cutting and raising a part of the sheet metal member 80. Theengaging claw 82 d protrudes from an inner side surface of the verticalplate part 82 c and is engaged with an engaging hole 80 f of the leftside sheet metal 80 d.

Details of Division Structure of Support Member

Next, the division structure of the support member 53 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 14 to FIG. 17. The support member 53 is dividedinto the one side divided part 531 and the other side divided part 532at a position closer to the rear end in the front and rear direction.The one side divided part 531 constitutes the rear end part of thesupport member 53. A gap A is provided between the support surface 53 sof the one side divided part 531 and the support surface 53 t of theother side divided part 532. The gap A extends in a direction (aperpendicular direction in the present embodiment) crossing thelongitudinal direction of the light guide members 71 and 72 when viewedfrom the sides of the light guide members 71 and 72. A dimension of thegap A is sufficiently larger than the amount of thermal expansiondeformation of each of the divided parts 531 and 532 in the front andrear direction, which is caused by heat generation at the time of animage reading operation. That is, the gap A is set to a size enough forbeing able to absorb predicted thermal expansion deformation of each ofthe divided parts 531 and 532 in the front and rear direction.

From a right side end of the one side divided part 531, a rectangularbracket plate part 531 c is formed to protrude. From the bracket platepart 531 c, a first protruding pin 531 a protrudes. The first protrudingpin 531 a has a cylindrical shape and protrudes frontward from a frontside surface of the bracket plate part 531 c. Furthermore, from a distalend surface (a front end surface) of the boss part 53 h of the one sidedivided part 531, a second protruding pin 531 b protrudes. The secondprotruding pin 531 b has a cylindrical shape and protrudes frontwardfrom the distal end surface of the boss part 53 h.

At the right side end of a rear end part of the other side divided part532, a first bracket plate part 532 c is vertically installed. The firstbracket plate part 532 c is formed with a first engaging hole 532 a longin the right and left direction. The first protruding pin 531 a of theone side divided part 531 is engaged with the first engaging hole 532 a.The first engaging hole 532 a permits only displacement of the firstprotruding pin 531 a in the right and left direction and the front andrear direction.

At the center of the rear end part of the other side divided part 532 inthe right and left direction, a second bracket plate part 532 d isvertically installed. The second bracket plate part 532 d is formed witha second engaging hole 532 b slidably fitted with the second protrudingpin 531 b of the one side divided part 531. The second engaging hole 532b permits only displacement of the second protruding pin 531 b in thefront and rear direction. The protruding pins 531 a and 531 b and theengaging holes 532 a and 532 b are respectively engaged with each other,so that the one side divided part 531 and the other side divided part532 are expandably connected to each other in the front and reardirection.

As illustrated in FIG. 15 and FIG. 17, from a rear end surface of theother side divided part 532, a first overlapped part 532 e and a secondoverlapped part 532 f (FIG. 17 illustrates only the second overlappedpart 532 f) protrude. The overlapped parts 532 e and 532 f are formed toenter under the reflecting-side support parts 53 a and 53 b of the oneside divided part 531. Upper surfaces of the overlapped parts 532 e and532 f are inclined in parallel to the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t ofthe reflecting-side support parts 53 a and 53 b. A part of the uppersurfaces 532 v and 532 w of the overlapped parts 532 e and 532 f isexposed to the sides of the light guide members 71 and 72 from the gap A(that is, is visible from the sides of the light guide members 71 and72). The upper surfaces 532 v and 532 w of the overlapped parts 532 eand 532 f become reflecting surfaces capable of reflecting light towardthe inside of the light guide members 71 and 72, similarly to thesupport surfaces 53 s and 53 t.

Operation and Effect

In the image reading device 3 configured as above, the light guidemembers 71 and 72 have the flat plate parts 71 b and 72 b extending inthe longitudinal direction thereof and the light guide bodies 71 a and72 a that protrude from one side surface in the thickness direction ofthe flat plate parts 71 b and 72 b, extend in the longitudinaldirection, and have surfaces formed with the light emitting part So, andare molded such that their sectional shapes vertical to the longitudinaldirection are hat shapes.

As described above, the light guide members 71 and 72 are formed to havea sectional hat shape, so that it is possible to prevent burr fromoccurring on the surfaces of the light guide members 71 and 72 that aremolded products. That is, in the related molding method of the lightguide member, a mold is divided into a plurality of (for example, four)molds in a circumferential direction when viewed from the longitudinaldirection of the light guide member and each split mold is radiallyopened/closed in a radial direction. However, in the related moldingmethod, abutting surfaces of adjacent split molds may be rubbed witheach other at the time of opening/closing and abraded. Therefore, thereis a problem that burr easily occurs in a molded product in a boundaryposition of the split molds.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, since a light guide member 100is formed to have a sectional hat shape including a light guide body 100a and a flat plate part 100 b as illustrated in FIG. 18, a mold 200 formolding the light guide member 100 can be configured with a first mold201 and a second mold 202 facing each other to be separated from andcontacted with each other. Consequently, since there is no slidablecontact in the mold 200 at the time of opening/closing as describedabove, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the aforementionedburr.

When the sectional shape of the light guide member vertical to thelongitudinal direction is a hat shape, both end parts of the light guidemembers 71 and 72 are easily warped up with respect to intermediateparts as described in FIG. 19.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the support surfaces 53 s and 53t of each of the light guide members 71 and 72 in the support member 53(the one side and the other side divided parts 531 and 532) abut thelower surfaces (surfaces opposite to the sides of the light guidebodies) of the flat plate parts 71 b and 72 b of the light guide members71 and 72.

Consequently, displacement of the intermediate parts in the longitudinaldirection of the light guide members 71 and 72 to a lower side isregulated by the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t, so that it is possibleto suppress deformation of both end parts of each of the light guidemembers 71 and 72 such as warping up.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the support member 53 is placed onthe upper surface of the sheet metal member 80 (the bottom side sheetmetal 80 a) fixed to the bottom wall part of the moving carriage 31.Furthermore, each of the light guide members 71 and 72 is pressed andfixed to each of the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t by the outerpressing members 82 engaged with and fixed to the left side sheet metal80 d of the sheet metal member 80 and the inner pressing members 81engaged with and fixed to the bottom side sheet metal 80 a of the sheetmetal member 80.

According to this, displacement of each of the light guide members 71and 72 to the light emitting part So side is regulated by the pressingmembers 81 and 82. Consequently, it is possible to more reliablysuppress deformation of both end parts of each of the light guidemembers 71 and 72 such as warping up.

Moreover, each of the pressing members 81 and 82 is provided over thewhole of each of the light guide members 71 and 72 in the longitudinaldirection. Consequently, both end parts of each of the light guidemembers 71 and 72 are further suppressed from being warped up.

Furthermore, the support member 53 abuts and is placed on the uppersurface of the bottom side sheet metal 80 a of the fixed sheet metalmember 80. According to this, the support member 53 is placed on thefirm metallic sheet metal member 80, so that it is possible to improvesupport stiffness of each of the light guide members 71 and 72 by eachof the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t of the support member 53.Consequently, pressing force of each of the pressing members 81 and 82is securely received by each of the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t, sothat each of the light guide members 71 and 72 can be corrected in astraight shape with no warping.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the support member 53 is dividedinto the one side divided part 531 and the other side divided part 532in the front and rear direction (the longitudinal direction of the firstand second light guide members 71 and 72). Furthermore, the gap A isprovided between the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t of the one sidedivided part 531 and the support surfaces 53 s and 53 t of the otherside divided part 532.

According to the configuration, even though the divided parts 531 and532 are thermally expanded in the front and rear direction due to heatgeneration and the like of the light sources 61 and 62, the gap Abetween both divided parts 531 and 532 is reduced, so that it ispossible to absorb the thermal expansion deformation. Consequently, itis possible to prevent warping of the light guide members 71 and 72 dueto a linear expansion difference between the support member 53 and thelight guide members 71 and 72. Thus, it is possible to reduce avariation in the amount of light, which is emitted from the lightemitting part So of each of the light guide members 71 and 72, dependingon a position in the front and rear direction.

Furthermore, the support member 53 is mounted and fixed to the fixedsheet metal member 80. Therefore, since thermal expansion deformation ofthe support member 53 in the front and rear direction is limited by thesheet metal member 80, the support member 53 is easily warped up. As aconsequence, the light guide members 71 and 72 supported to the supportmember 53 may be warped.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, thermal expansion deformation ofthe support member 53 in the front and rear direction is absorbed by thegap A, so that it is possible to prevent warping of the support member53 and thus to prevent warping of the light guide members 71 and 72.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the support surfaces 53 s and 53t of the one side and the other side divided parts 531 and 532 becomereflecting surfaces capable of reflecting light toward the inside of thelight guide members 71 and 72, adjacent parts of the one side dividedpart 531 and the other side divided part 532 overlap each other via theoverlapped parts 532 e and 532 f provided to the other side divided part532, and the upper surfaces 532 v and 532 w (surfaces exposed to thesides of the light guide members 71 and 72 through the gap A) of theoverlapped parts 532 e and 532 f become reflecting surfaces capable ofreflecting light.

According to the configuration, it is possible to prevent reduction ofthe amount of light emitted from positions of the light guide members 71and 72, which correspond to the gap A.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the second protrudingpin 531 b protrudes from the one side divided part 531, the secondengaging hole 532 b is formed in the other side divided part 532, andthe second protruding pin 531 b is restricted to be movable in thesecond engaging hole 532 b only in the front and rear direction (thelongitudinal direction of the light guide members 71 and 72). In thisway, the one side divided part 531 and the other side divided part 532can be connected to each other with a simple structure so as to bedisplaceable in the front and rear direction.

Other Embodiments

In the aforementioned embodiment, an example, in which the supportsurfaces 53 s and 53 t of the support member 53 abut the lower surfaceof each of the light guide members 71 and 72, has been described;however, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited theretoand a gap may exist between each of the support surfaces 53 s and 53 tand each of the light guide members 71 and 72.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the overlapped parts 532 e and 532 fare formed at the other side divided part 532; however, the technologyof the present disclosure is not limited thereto and the overlappedparts 532 e and 532 f may be formed at the one side divided part 531.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the inner and outer pressing members81 and 82 are fixed to the sheet metal member 80; however, thetechnology of the present disclosure is not limited thereto and theinner and outer pressing members 81 and 82 may be fixed to the supportmember 53.

In the aforementioned embodiment, an example, in which the light guidebodies 71 a and 72 a have a semi-cylindrical shape, has been described;however, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited theretoand for example, the light guide bodies 71 a and 72 a may have apolygonal prismatic shape.

The technology of the present disclosure is available for anillumination device and an image reading device including the same, andparticularly is available when it is applied to a copy machine, aprinter, a multifunctional peripheral (MFP), a facsimile and the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. An illumination device comprising: a lightemitting unit; a light guide member formed in a rod shape, having oneend part in a longitudinal direction facing the light emitting unit, andformed on a peripheral surface thereof with a light emitting partextending in the longitudinal direction; and a support member thatcovers an opposite side of a side of the light emitting part of thelight guide member and supports both end parts in a longitudinaldirection of the light guide member, wherein the light guide member hasa flat plate part that extends in the longitudinal direction and a lightguide body that protrudes from one side surface in a thickness directionof the flat plate part, is formed over an entire area in thelongitudinal direction, and is provided on the peripheral surfacethereof with the light emitting part, and is formed such that asectional shape vertical to the longitudinal direction is a hat shape,the support member has a pair of end support parts that support both endparts in the longitudinal direction of the light guide memberrespectively and a flat plate part-support part that supports a surfaceof the flat plate part of the light guide member, which is opposite to aside of the light guide body, a support surface of the flat platepart-support part abuts the surface in an entire area in thelongitudinal direction of the surface of the light guide member, theflat plate part-support part is divided in an intermediate position inthe longitudinal direction of the light guide member, so that thesupport member is divided into a one side divided part and the otherside divided part, and a gap is provided between the one side dividedpart and the other side divided part to extend in a direction crossingthe longitudinal direction of the light guide member, and absorbsthermal expansion deformation in the longitudinal direction of the lightguide member.
 2. The illumination device of claim 1, further comprising:a pressing member that presses the light guide member to the supportsurface of the flat plate part-support part.
 3. The illumination deviceof claim 2, wherein the support member abuts and is placed on an uppersurface of a fixed sheet metal member.
 4. The illumination device ofclaim 1, wherein the support surface of the flat plate part-support partbecomes a reflecting surface that is able to reflect light toward theinside of the light guide member, one of the one side divided part andthe other side divided part is provided with an overlapped part thatenters under a side of a support surface of a flat plate part-supportpart of the other divided part, and a surface of the overlapped part,which is exposed to a side of the light guide member through the gap,becomes a reflecting surface that is able to reflect light toward theinside of the light guide member.
 5. The illumination device of claim 1,wherein one of the one side divided part and the other side divided partis formed with a pin extending in the longitudinal direction, the otherdivided part is formed with an engaging hole engaged with the pin, andthe pin is restricted to be movable in the engaging hole only in thelongitudinal direction.
 6. The illumination device of claim 1, whereinthe support member is mounted and fixed to a fixed sheet metal member.7. An image reading device comprising the illumination device ofclaim
 1. 8. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the flat platepart-support part of the support member extends along the longitudinaldirection of the light guide member, the pair of end support parts areconnected to the both end parts in the extension direction of the flatplate part-support part, and are formed in a plate shape vertical to thesupport surface of the flat plate part-support part, the pair of endsupport parts are formed with a fitting hole passing though in athickness direction respectively, and the both end parts in thelongitudinal direction of the light guide member are fitted in thefitting hole of the pair of end support parts so as to be supported tothe pair of end support parts.